She was Welcome
by Meredith T. Tasaki
Summary: Tomoyo asks Li a question--"When did you fall in love with Sakura?" And this is what he said. Based on the translated MANGA.


AN: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. This is based on the manga, volume four, the translated stuff, which _is_ good. I caught a couple of Kero-chans and they did eventually remember it wasn't Li Syaoran, but Syaoran Li. (They had to make it right. In book six it wouldn't make sense otherwise. They finally resigned themselves to the fact that everyone _was_ calling him by his last name, and the people would figure it out eventually.)  
  
Summary: Tomoyo asks Li a question--"When did _you_ fall for Sakura?" And he tells her. Based on book four, set sometime after six.  
  
~*~  
  
So. You want to know when I fell for Sakura? I guess that means you have too. No, you don't have to tell me I'm right. I already know I am. No. You wouldn't. Oh God, you would. NO! I'm sorry! Just don't bring that dork in here! YES, I mean Toya. Well you'd call him a dork too if he wanted to kill you. YES, he wants to kill me. He has a price out on my head. Hah, you don't believe me? I'm serious.  
  
Stupid Truth-or-Dare. At least Sakura isn't here. Kerberos would kill me too. I think he might have pooled his resources with Toya's. I swear that hitman used Fire magic. But at least it's just you and me, and I guess we have nothing to hide, do we?  
  
Anyway. What you asked.  
  
I was determined to hate her. After all, she was collecting the Clow Cards. Yeah, you were right, Tomoyo. A little too right if you ask me. ...You didn't put anything in this cola, did you?... If I find out you did--  
  
All right, all right, I'll keep going. At first I didn't like her. I thought she was just some stupid little kid who didn't stand a chance. I thought she was weak. Maybe I was arrogant; does it really matter? Who's getting off the subject now?  
  
Then, when she caught Shadow, that's when her magic started to work. You must know what I mean. I still didn't think she was worthy, but--I wasn't so sure anymore.  
  
Then I saw how she handled Mirror, and I _really_ wasn't sure. She seemed so weak, but she was capturing all these cards. And after all, I hadn't caught any. And I saw how she acted with her brother--none of my older sisters are like that. That's when I decided I just might possibly be wrong about me being the strongest magician in Tomoeda.   
  
Then, after that, it was Maze. That's when I realized something was strange here. Why should I tell her to watch out for Ms. Mitsuki? After all, if she was gone, then I could start to collect the Clow Cards. And then I realized I hadn't even been thinking about capturing the cards for the longest time. I think what my conclusion was then was that she HAD to have strong magic--it was even messing around with me.  
  
But when it happened... Erase. You don't remember Erase, do you? Did Sakura remember to tell you about that? But it was more than the card itself.  
  
I had felt some sort of power. She--I don't know what she was doing, really. But we ran into each other, nearly literally, the night before the test of courage. We talked... then went back to bed. I was halfway to the bungalow when I realized that dangit, I had given her advice again. And I had talked to her, really talked to her. I hadn't intended to get this involved here. But somehow, I knew it was happening, but I still wasn't really sure why.  
  
Then, at the test of courage, I knew something was wrong when Yamazaki-kun disappeared. And then I realized what I'd been sensing: a Clow Card. And after that I realized that everyone else was gone. Then Sakura ran into me. Literally, again. She was crying, and she told me what I already knew: Everyone had disappeared. She--she was starting to get hysterical, you see--that was all. And I didn't want some girl going crazy on me. So I grabbed her and told her to calm down. She figured out it was a Clow Card: More than I thought she could do, actually, before a few minutes before.   
  
Then she called me _nice_.  
  
Exactly. I've never been called nice. Nobody thinks I'm nice. I didn't even think I wanted anyone to think I was nice, but then she said I was, and suddenly... I don't understand it either, if you're wondering.   
  
Then I learned she couldn't even perform a simple charm. Like I thought. All I did was light a candle, you know? Nothing hard; I've been able to do it forever. Like cooking, and cleaning. But she thought it was wonderful... And at the same time I was thinking how pathetic that was, I blushed. And I wasn't sure why. I wasn't really sure of anything at that point, so I just said "Let's go."  
  
She asked why I wanted to collect the Clow Cards. I told her I wanted to stop the Evil that Clow Reed foretold in his books. She said, "But Kero said it might not be an Evil to some people..."  
  
I said, "But doesn't that mean it could be a terrible evil to others?" And then a horrible thought came to my mind. What would move a magician like Clow Reed? What if it it was the destruction of magic? What if the Clow Cards took all the magic in the world away, and I was left--me? With no defences? I've--needed magic--all my life. I just have! Don't ask me why! What do you care?!  
  
We got to the lake surrounding the shrine, and I used my walk-on-water spell. We started to walk to the shrine... And I started to disappear.  
  
I didn't even believe it at first. Then I realized what this had to be: the Erase card. Which erased the people or things with the least magic first. Which meant she was more powerful than me. And which also meant she was our only hope.  
  
I screamed at her to concentrate, to calm down, that she could find the card if she'd focus. "Do you want everyone to stay gone?!" I finally screamed at her.  
  
"NO!!" she screamed, and found it. She returned it to card form, and I found myself reappearing.  
  
"This is yours, Li," she told me, holding out the card. But I didn't want to get a card on charity. That card belonged to her.  
  
"That's yours..." I told her.  
  
"Thank you," she said. And it just made me feel so nice to hear that... Then I realized I had just given her a card. And then I realized that I thought the cards were rightfully hers. So then I ran.  
  
Whaddaya MEAN, typical?!  
  
Then, the next day, she thanked me.  
  
"Don't think I've accepted you," I said, folding my arms and looking away.  
  
She smiled. "I know. But I wanted to thank you."  
  
"Sakura!" everyone called.  
  
"Okay!" she yelled, and ran to them.  
  
And I saw something then. She'd wanted to thank me. She was welcome. I said I hadn't accepted her. But I _had_.  
  
And that is when I started to fall for your friend Kinomoto Sakura. Are you _happy_ now?...  
  
You aren't supposed to say yes.  
  
  
  
~*~ 


End file.
